to Buddhism are usually impressed by the clarity, directness, and earthy practicality of the Dhamma as embodied in such basic teachings as the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, and the threefold training. These teachings, as clear as day-light, are accessible to any serious seeker looking for a way beyond suffering. When, however, these seekers encounter the doctrine of rebirth, they often balk, convinced it just doesn’t make sense . At this point, they suspect that the teaching has swerved off course, tumbling from the grand highway of reason into wistfulness and speculation. Even modernist interpreters of Buddhism seem to have trouble taking the rebirth teaching seriously. Some dismiss it as just a piece of cultural baggage, “ancient Indian metaphysics,” that the Buddha retained in deference to the world view of his age. Others interpret it as a metaphor for the change of mental states, with the realms of rebirth seen as symbols for psychological archetypes. A few critics even question the authenticity of the texts on rebirth, arguing that they must be interpolations.
EWCOMERS

A quick glance at the Påli suttas would show that none of these claims has much substance. The teaching of rebirth crops up almost everywhere in the Canon, and is so closely bound to a host of other doctrines that to remove it would virtually reduce the Dhamma to tatters. Moreover, when the suttas speak about rebirth into the five realms – the hells, the animal world, the spirit realm, the human world, and the heavens – they never hint that these terms are meant symbolically. To the contrary, they even say that rebirth occurs “with the breakup of the body, after death,” which clearly implies they intend the idea of rebirth to be taken quite literally.

let us take Hitler. For the principle of moral equilibrium to work. and success. As the limiting case of immoral action. esteem. Nevertheless. and second. have an inherent power to bring forth fruits that correspond to the moral quality of those deeds. Now if there is not survival beyond death. often poignantly. I believe such a thesis flies in the face of one of our deepest moral intuitions. it seems. the conception of rebirth is an essential plank of its ethical theory. the twin teachings of rebirth and kamma show that a principle of moral equilibrium obtains between our actions and the felt quality of our lives. the ethical. I wish to show that the idea of rebirth makes sense. having meaning both intrinsically and in relation to the Dhamma as a whole. providing an incentive for avoiding evil and doing good. some type of survival beyond the present life is required. The naturalist might just be right in holding that personal existence comes to an end at death. for any finite good action. who was directly responsible for the dehumanizing deaths of perhaps ten million people. Read together. First.In this essay I won’t be arguing the case for the scientific validity of rebirth. let us consider two limiting cases of ethically decisive action. on the other a sequence of rebirths. and no finite bad action. an eternal afterlife in heaven or hell. should warrant eternal damnation. Don’t be frightened by the big words: the meaning will become clear as we go along. while people who lead lives of the highest integrity are bowed down beneath pain and misery. an unrealistic demand we superimpose on a universe cold and indifferent to our hopes. Before dying. that morally unscrupulous people might enjoy happiness. to understand our own place in the world. the teaching of rebirth makes sense in relation to ethics . and with it all prospects for moral justice. the hypothesis of rebirth seems far more compatible with moral justice than an eternal afterlife. in that it helps us to make sense. Two different forms of survival are possible: on the one hand. a sense that some kind of moral justice must ultimately prevail. It may be the case that this insistence on some kind of moral equity is an illusion. let us consider a man who sacrifices his own life to save the lives of total strangers. We can observe. the doctrine of rebirth is correlated with the principle of kamma. I will try to establish this in relation to three domains of discourse. and the soteriological. Instead. There is no logical way to prove the validity of rebirth and kamma. Of these alternatives. In this context. our wholesome and unwholesome deeds. It is only too obvious that such moral equilibrium cannot be found within the limits of a single life. such that morally good deeds bring agreeable results. in that it is intelligible. no matter how bad. For early Buddhism. both men reap the same ultimate destiny. perhaps. for kamma can bring its due retribution only if our individual stream of consciousness does not terminate with death. I will be contending that it “makes sense” in two ways: first. To show that this is so. must eventually exhaust its potency. which asserts that all our morally determinate actions. As the limiting case of moral action. Hitler experiences some pangs of 2
. bad deeds disagreeable results. the ontological.

These twin principles open a window to a wider background against which our pursuit of the moral life unfolds. a principle of moral equilibrium that is not mere projection but is built into the very bedrock of actuality. speech. except in others’ memories. The Buddha includes belief in rebirth and kamma in his definition of right view. The gist of his reasoning is simply that we should not mistreat others – by injuring them. Now the naturalist might be correct in drawing this conclusion. The Buddha himself does not try to found ethics on the ideas of kamma and rebirth. determining our future lives and bringing us happiness or suffering. reduced to lifeless flesh and bones. and their explicit denial in wrong view. and courage. Where the naturalist holds that this intuition amounts to nothing more than a projection of our own ideals out upon the world. the self-sacrificing hero enjoys a few seconds knowing he’s performing a noble deed. and mind.despair. dignity. we will also realize that our present actions are the legacy that we will transmit to our kammic descendants. stealing their belongings. But I think something within us resists consigning both Hitler and our compassionate hero to the same fate. By our present actions of body. Both are obliterated. exploiting them sexually. The teaching of rebirth thus enables us to face the future with fortitude. he does make belief in kamma and rebirth a strong inducement to moral behavior. our subjective sense of moral justice reflects an objective reality. to ourselves in future lives. If we recognize that no matter how debilitating our present conditions might be. that is. result from our actions in previous lives. I would contend that the very fact that we can conceive a demand for moral justice has a significance that is more than merely psychological. It is not that the desire for the fruits of good karma should be one’s main motive for leading a moral life. Nevertheless. The above considerations are not intended to make belief in rebirth a necessary basis for ethics. and in holding that those who believe in survival and retribution are just projecting their own wishes out upon the world. The reason we resist is because we have a deep intuitive sense that a principle of moral justice is at work in the world. our dispositions and aptitudes. our virtues and faults. or deceiving them – because we ourselves are averse to being treated in such ways. However vaguely. though the Buddha does not found ethics on the theory of rebirth. When we realize that our present conditions reflect our kammic past. no matter how limiting and degrading. we will be spurred to exercise our will for the achievement of our future good. Then beyond that – nothing. They show us that our present living conditions. we can 3
. but uses a purely naturalistic type of moral reasoning that does not presuppose personal survival or the working of kamma. we can still redeem ourselves. When we recognize that our good and bad actions can rebound upon ourselves. but rather that acceptance of these teachings inspires and reinforces our commitment to ethical ideals. this gives us a decisive reason to avoid unwholesome conduct and to diligently pursue the good. regulating the course of events in such a way that our good and bad actions rebound upon ourselves to bring the appropriate fruit.

one in which our morally determinate actions bring forth fruits that in some way correspond to their own ethical quality. we are not simply acting in ways that merit moral approval. which we will examine in the next part of this essay. The teachings of kamma and rebirth have a still deeper ethical significance than as simple pointers to moral responsibility. that locks our volitional actions into the dynamics of the cosmos. and by transforming ourselves. integrated whole. but also in the ethical. this does not mean it is not real.
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This brings us to the ontological aspect of the Buddhist teaching on rebirth. like quarks and quasars. Although this ethical order is invisible to our fleshly eyes and cannot be detected by scientific apparatus. Beyond the range of normal perception. The levels of order that we have access to by direct inspection or scientific investigation do not exhaust all the levels of cosmic order. views. not only in the physical and biological domains. taken in conjunction with the doctrine of kamma. 4
. Taken in conjunction. but also that we live in an ethically meaningful universe. and the teachings of kamma and rebirth reveal just what that pattern is. an orderly.transform ourselves. operating across the sequence of rebirths. Buddhism sees the process of rebirth as integral to the principle of conditionality that runs through all existence. a moral law holds sway over our deeds and via our deeds over our destiny. thus making ethics an expression of the cosmos’s own intrinsic orderliness. the moral law locks our volitional deeds into an all-embracing cosmic order that is perfectly objective in that it functions independently of our personal desires. the universal law of righteousness and truth which stands at the bedrock of the cosmos. There is system and pattern. It is just the principle of kamma. Though the moral law that links our actions with their fruits cannot be demonstrated experimentally in the same way that physical and chemical laws can be. its implications for understanding the nature of being. At this point ethics begins to shade into ontology. and beliefs. with dimensions of significance that transcend the merely physical. we can surmount all inner and outer obstacles and advance toward the final goal. implies that we live in a morally ordered universe.
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teaching of rebirth. Far from being a mere projection of our subjective ideals. By conforming to the principles of ethics we are doing nothing less than aligning ourselves with the Dhamma. it operates beyond the threshold of sensory perception. Thus when we submit our behavior to the rule of ethics. this does not mean it is not real. It means only that. They show us not only that our personal lives are shaped by our own kammic past. they make the universe a cosmos .

” and mind becomes an accidental intruder upon an inherently senseless universe. but in the sense that the body and the world in which we find ourselves reflect our mental activity. which governs the process of rebirth. Thus the order of kamma. Since kamma is ultimately explained as volition (cetanå). nose. consciousness and the world coexist in a relationship of mutual creation which equally require both terms. not in the sense that it arises before the body or can exist independently of a physical substratum. The kammic process functions autonomously. and it is our stock of kamma that steers the stream of consciousness from the past life into a new body. as something to be felt” (SN XI. bending their energies toward the fulfillment of its own potential. Interwoven with other orders in the vast. that constitutes kamma. tongue. is old kamma. without a supervisor or director. complex web of conditionality. and mind-base are also fashioned by our past kamma. Under the influence of materialistic biases we assume that material existence is determinative of consciousness. that is the product of past kamma. The eye. in terms of practical importance the Buddha says that mind is the forerunner. From the Buddhist perspective.146). O monks. Precisely how past volition can influence the development of the zygote lies beyond the range of scientific 5
. and thus kamma to some degree shapes and influences all our sensory experience. our deeds produce their consequences just as naturally as seeds in a field bring forth their appropriate herbs and flowers. rewarding and punishing us for our deeds. with all its distinguishing features and faculties of sense. Just as there can be no consciousness without a body to serve as its physical support and a world as its sphere of cognition. Thus the Buddha says: “This body. to be seen as generated and fashioned by volition. but the sense faculties too (see SN XXV. is rooted in our volitional activities in earlier lives.37). ear. It is not only the body. The Buddha does not posit a divine judge who rules over the workings of kamma. so there can be no physical organism and no world without some type of consciousness to constitute them as an organism and world. It is mental activity. in the form of volition.The sentient universe is regulated by different orders of causation layered in such a way that higher orders of causation can exercise dominion over lower ones. dominates the lower orders of physical and biological causation. Mind is the forerunner. bodysense. entirely through the intrinsic power of volitional action. as a composite whole. everyday conception of the relationship between consciousness and matter. To understand how kamma can produce its effects across the succession of rebirths we must invert our normal. we tacitly take the body to be the foundation of our existence and mind or consciousness an evolutionary offshoot of blind material processes. Matter wins the honored status of “objective reality. however. this means that the particular body with which we are endowed. Because we witness bodies being born into this world and observe how the mind matures in tandem with the body. Though temporally neither mind nor matter can be regarded as prior to the other.

and merge.explanation.76). beneath the surface of events. is fused into a unified whole by the causal relations obtaining between all the occasions of consciousness in any individual continuum. the evolving stream of consciousness. It is within this stream of consciousness that the kamma has been created through the exercise of volition. The most important function performed by kamma is to generate rebirth into an appropriate realm. The bridge between the old existence and the new is. but a stream of evanescent acts of consciousness. each of which arises. and it is again this same stream of consciousness that experiences the fruit. “‘Existence. If there were no kamma ripening in the formless realm. a self or soul. it is this same stream of consciousness. when it passes. Every volitional deed that we perform. no formless-sphere existence 6
. though made up of evanescent units. no form-sphere existence would be discerned. briefly subsists. flowing on. At a deep level. The deed deposits in the stream of consciousness a seed capable of bearing fruit. no sense-sphere existence would be discerned. it in turn passes that content on to its successor. leaves behind a subtle imprint stamped upon the onward-flowing stream of consciousness. This hypothesis – though speculative – would help account for the strange coincidences we sometimes meet that prick holes in our assumptions of rational order. In what way is there existence?” The Buddha replies: “If there were no kamma ripening in the sensory realm. consciousness bridges the old and new existences. at the deepest level all the individual streams of consciousness are integrated into a single all-embracing matrix. venerable sir. so that. however. but if the Buddha’s words are to be trusted such an influence must be real. and then passes away. Consciousness embraces both phases of our being – that in which we generate fresh kamma and that in which we reap the fruits of old kamma – and thus in the process of rebirth. Thus our volitional deeds do not exhaust their full potential in their immediately visible effects. overlap. a realm that provides a field for it to unfold its stored potentials. The generative function of kamma in the production of new existence is described by the Buddha in a short but pithy sutta preserved in the Anguttara Nikåya (AN III. as we said above. existence’ is spoken of. in perishing. The channel for the transmission of kammic influence from life to life across the sequence of rebirths is the individual stream of consciousness. When we encounter suitable external conditions. augmented by its own novel contribution. of producing a result that matches the ethical quality of the deed. This entire stream. the kammic seeds deposited in our mental continuum rise up from their dormant condition and produce their fruits. If there where no kamma ripening in the form realm. Venerable Ónanda approaches the Master and says. each occasion of consciousness inherits from its predecessor the entire kammic legacy of that particular stream. Consciousness is not a single transmigrating entity. the separate kammic accumulations of all living beings crisscross. Conceivably. that carries the kammic energies into the new existence.

Therefore.” As long as ignorance and craving. Then. or high (formless-sphere). assumes successive modes of embodiment. as the stream of consciousness. This aspect of the Buddhist teaching on rebirth will be explored more fully in the third part of this essay. and wisdom. The ultimate implication of the Buddha’s teaching on kamma and rebirth is that human beings are the final masters of their own destiny. 7
. as the seed. we create unwholesome kamma. remain intact in our mental continuum. Thereby the round of existence keeps turning from one life to the next. rooted in greed. middling (form-sphere). either low (sense-sphere). we can uncover the subtle truths hidden by our preoccupation with appearances. the third installment had not yet been published—ed. rooted in generosity. and craving the moisture for beings obstructed by ignorance and fettered by craving to be established in a new realm of existence. the freedom beyond the cycle of kamma and its fruit.would be discerned.” When consciousness. becomes planted or “established” in that realm it sprouts forth into the rest of the psycho-physical organism. swept along by craving and steered by kamma. Through our wholesome deeds. As the organism matures. hatred. the twin roots of the round of rebirths. we beautify our minds and thereby create kamma productive of a happy rebirth. Ónanda. it provides the site for other past kammas to gain the opportunity to produce their results. consciousness the seed.1
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As of Summer 2005. at the time of death one especially powerful kamma will become ascendant and propel the stream of consciousness to the realm of existence that corresponds to its own “vibrational frequency. and delusion. of future misery and bondage. summed up in the expression “name and form” (nåma-rËpa). kindness. in response to our various kammically induced experiences. the generative cause of bad rebirths. within this new existence. By using wisdom to dig more deeply below the superficial face of things. we engage in actions that engender fresh kamma with the capacity to generate still another rebirth. Through our unwholesome deeds. kamma is the field. Thereby we can uproot the binding defilements and win the peace of deliverance.

Its publications include accurate annotated translations of the Buddha’s discourses. which has a vital message for people of all creeds.The Buddhist Publication Society
The Buddhist Publication Society is an approved charity dedicated to making known the Teaching of the Buddha. the BPS has published a wide variety of books and booklets covering a great range of topics.O.
BUDDHIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY P. These works present Buddhism as it truly is — a dynamic force which has influenced receptive minds for the past 2500 years and is still as relevant today as it was when it first arose.lk
. Sangharaja Mawatha Kandy Sri Lanka http://www.bps. as well as original contemporary expositions of Buddhist thought and practice. Box 61 54. Founded in 1958. standard reference works.